Turning Point responds to Alcohol Concern report

News item posted: 19 June 2017

Alcohol Concern released a report today which found the cost
of hospital admissions linked to heavy drinking in the 55 to
74-year-old age bracket in 2010-11 was more than £825m, revealing
that this age group costs the NHS more than any other.

In response to the report, Turning Point's Director of Substance
Misuse Services, Jackie Kennedy said, "It is not a surprise that
this group costs the NHS more money than any other group. What we
are seeing here are the complex health implications that arise from
sustained heavy drinking.

We need the NHS to provide more services to identify problem
drinking at an earlier stage. If not, we will see this pattern
repeating itself, adding to NHS costs further down the line. We
know from the support we provide in Gateshead A and E that patients
benefit from brief alcohol intervention services in hospitals. By
having staff based at A and E they are able to give patients advice
and information, alcohol screening, health and unit awareness, as
well as signposting to local and national alcohol services.

By combining this with substance misuse education in our
schools, like Turning Point's programme in Windsor and Maidenhead
which trains older students on how to give drug and alcohol health
lessons to their younger peers, we can ensure that these statistics
aren't stalwarts in the NHS system for years to come. Alcohol
Concern's report is a welcome focus on an issue we cannot afford to
ignore."